Marine Le Pen, France's far-right presidential candidate, pulled out a snappy line against centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron in a head-to-head presidential debate Wednesday evening. Le Pen, claiming Macron will cave to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's will if he is elected, argued the contest was really a choice between which of two women would lead France: Either her or Merkel.
Macron was incensed by the remark. The debate, which The New York Times described as "vicious," also touched on France's 20th-century history and on Islamic extremism. Le Pen painted Macron as a "candidate of savage globalization," while Macron cast Le Pen as "the heir to an ugly far-right tradition in France," the Times reported.
The candidates will face off Sunday in a runoff election that will determine France's next president. Polls predict Macron will win with 60 percent of the vote.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Has ‘poppy politics’ got out of hand?Talking Point ‘Toxic’ debate over red and white poppies is another front in the culture wars
-
Vladimir Putin’s ‘nuclear tsunami’ missileIn The Spotlight Russian president has boasted that there is no way to intercept the new weapon
-
Codeword: November 11, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
USDA orders states to ‘undo’ full SNAP paymentsSpeed Read The Trump administration is telling states not to pay full November food stamp benefits
-
Senate takes first step to end record shutdownSpeed Read Eight senators in the Democratic caucus voted with Republicans to advance legislation to reopen the government
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
